Jimmy Garoppolo's Not Playing In Super Bowl 52, But He Got Paid $79,000 'Cause His Former Team Is

Although Super Bowl 52 pegs quarterbacks Tom Brady of the New England Patriots up against Nick Foles of the Philadelphia Eagles, one signal-caller, Jimmy Garoppolo, is reaping the benefits of his former team, the Patriots, reaching the Big Game. That's because, thanks to a clause in Jimmy Garoppolo's contract, he's being rewarded $79,000 — so something tells me ol' Jimmy was seriously rooting for his former squad in this past weekend's AFC Championship Game for reasons other than loyalty.

Garoppolo, who New England traded away to the San Francisco 49ers back in the middle of the regular season, may not have taken a single snap for the Patriots this season, but that doesn't stop him from raking in a bunch of money. Oh, and he's not stopping at just the $79,000 either, because, according to the Twitter of ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Jimmy Garoppolo contract calls for him to make at least a total of $135,000, depending on the outcome of Super Bowl 52.

For New England’s playoff wins and trip to Super Bowl LII, $79,000 in bonuses will be paid to 49ers’ QB Jimmy Garoppolo.

While being Tom Brady's backup for a few years sounds like the dream job — Jimmy Garoppolo only played in 17 total games, starting two during his time with the New England Patriots — the fact that this dude is earning what some people wish they could make as an annual salary for watching the Super Bowl from his couch is even crazier. Seriously, Garoppolo's getting paid to do what you and I will be doing on Super Bowl Sunday like stuffing his face, drinking a few beers and being a lazy sack. Oh, except he's going to be doing it while getting paid by one of the teams playing in the game. Lucky duck.

What's more is the fact that, according to Spotrac, Jimmy Garoppolo, who's a free agent this offseason, has a market value of $72 million. In essence, the quarterback is in line for a huge payday from some team, whether that's his current squad, the San Francisco 49ers, or someone else. And here I thought that Tom Brady was the luckiest person on the planet. As it turns out, it might be the guy who rode the pine behind him for 2.5 seasons in New England instead!

After leading his new Niners team to an undefeated 5-0 record after starting for them, I've got a hunch that the new Jimmy Garoppolo contract will be even bigger than he expects. Hey, if he's lucky enough to score a minimum of $135,000 for doing nothing to reach or win/lose Super Bowl 52, why wouldn't he be lucky enough to have some NFL team overpay by a few millions for his services? Man, some guys have all the luck!